Time Effect
by Brotherhood Of War
Summary: The rebuilding after the Reaper invasion is taking too long for the Council. They decide to do something about it.
1. Chapter 1

AN: Mass effect belongs to Bioware not me. Warning there are spoilers with Mass Effect 1 and 2.

Explosions rocked a quiet neighborhood awake and a small little girl jumped from her dreams. Her father runs in the room and pulls her out of bed by her right arm in his other arm was a military grade assault rifle. He pulls her into the closet and makes her crouch down as her mother runs in with another high grade rifle in her hands.

"Stay here and be quiet. Don't leave until one of us comes to get you, okay?" Her father orders as he kisses her forehead as she nods.

"We love you, Thalia." Her mother said with tears in her chocolate eyes as she too kissed her young child's brow.

Try as she might to obey her father, the dark brown child grew more scared as the gun fire drew closer. She peaked out of her closet and made a break for her door. The little girl snuck around to the ground floor of her home. Thalia went out the back door of the house and starred at the fiery red that was spread across the night sky. Curiosity got the better of her and she ran up the right side of the house to peak around the corner at the battle. That decision will forever haunt her life.

The little neighborhood was covered in smoke, flames, and dead bodies. Up not too far from their house was her parents, they were behind cover and only poking up to fire their weapons at their enemies. Her mother rose to fire at an enclosing Krogan in maroon armor when a bullet ripped into her right shoulder causing her to fall and her father yelled as he gunned down the gang member. He ran to his fallen wife, who was grasping her shoulder and breathing heavily, to hold her in his arms. Her dark haired mother pulled him down to her face and gave him one last kiss before she stopped movement. The grieving brunette man grabbed his rifle and fired wildly before he was joined by other weapons as soldiers in Alliance armor joined him. She was grabbed by a Marine to move her to a safer place but it didn't stop her from seeing her unarmored father shot down by a shotgun wielding Batarian.

Thalia screamed and struggled to get free from the soldier. Finally wiggling out of his arms, she charged towards her parents bodies as fast as her little legs could carry her. The presence of a little girl on the battlefield startled some of the Marines but she picked up one of her parent's rifles and started firing. However, the recoil of the rifle was too much for the eight year old and she fell back hitting her head. A grenade thrown nearby sent a piece of metal onto her head knocking her unconscious.

When the young girl came to, she was in a medical bay of a base with her grandmother and aunts sitting at her bed side. She noticed that all their eyes were puffy and red from crying. She tried to cry or feel something about her parents' death but nothing came. The only thing that registered as a feeling was the intense rage she felt for all who had anything to do with the attack on her home and the deaths of her parents. Across the Galaxy, the council received news of the attack on a settlement on Elysium and the deaths of retired Commander Alex Shepard and retired Lieutenant Ashley Shepard.

***16 years later***

"The rebuilding from the Reaper invasion is taking too long." Councilor Valern stated angrily at a meeting of the council.

"What do you suppose we do about it?" Councilor Anderson fired back at the Turian. "If we had listened to Shepard in the first place, we could have saved a lot of lives."

"Enough, both of you. We won't start this again. Anderson, we understand that Shepard was right and we should have listened instead of judged, but we can't change the past." Ever the voice of reason, Councilor Tevos commented.

"But what if we could? Experimental technology thrown together from tech from other species could solve problem in limited time range." The fast speaking Salarian councilor trailed off and the rest of the Council stared at him in shock.

"The Salarians have been developing time travel technology? What were you planning to use it for?" Anderson questioned.

"Unfortunate side effect but could prove to be useful, but how to use it?" He answered while wondering.

"Wait, are we actually thinking of trying to do this?" the Turian's mandibles flared.

"For once, we agree, Councilor. This doesn't sound like a good idea. There's no way we could know what would happen if we did this." The Human soldier said with certainty.

"Maybe we should try this course but we would need to send someone who could read Shepard's moves. We can't deviate from the path too much just prepare ourselves and the rest of the galaxy." The blue woman suggested.

"So, how would your plan go?" Valern sarcastically asked.

"We send someone back to work with the Commander and help guide him while we prepare ourselves." She answered.

"When exactly do you plan to send this person back? I don't think Shepard would trust just anyone, let alone someone we assigned him." The Turian was trying to stop the Asari from continuing with her idea.

"The first time he comes to the Citadel after the Collectors attack the first Normandy." The response was immediate from the only female councilor.

"You've thought long about this, haven't you? Well, have you thought of who to send? There is no one in the Galaxy that could possibly know what Shepard was going to do." Valern tried one last time.

"What about his child?" Anderson's voice cut in.

"No, she's a criminal." The Turian automatically rejected.

"She would understand how he thinks." The aged man argued.

"Perhaps sending not just one but two would increase likelihood of mission success." The hooded Salarian interjected.

"Fine, waste your time, but I'm telling you Thalia Shepard can't be trusted." Valern snarled.

AN: so tell me what you think. I don't know the Salarian Councilor's name but it is implied that it might be Valern; however, I thought that sounded more Turian.


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Thank you for the reviews. After rereading through my first chapter, I discovered that I made a mistake. I wrote that she was a dark brown child; what I meant was that she had dark brown hair. Mass Effect doesn't belong to me.

A dark haired woman, wearing the standard green prison uniform, sat eating her lunch quietly. With the guards distracted by a fight, another inmate snuck up behind her with a lunch tray as her weapon and she brought it down onto her enemy's back. Thalia felt the pain of the attack but turned to catch the tray before it could do anymore damage. She yanked the weapon from her opponent and ducked the retaliated jab. Pulling the other inmate into a choke hold, Thalia caught the sight of a tattoo on her arm.

"So, you're a blue sun." Her light green eyes narrowed with her words.

"Yeah, Bitch, we're going to get you for what you've done." The mercenary choked out.

"They've been saying that for a while now." A crack sound was heard signifying that the neck was broken.

"Shepard, damn it." A guard rushed forward and pushed the brunette to the floor cuffing her.

"Eh, she deserved it." Thalia dismissed as she was once again led from the hall.

"Wait, Rogers, the Council has sent someone to take Shepard to the Citadel." The warden had caught them just outside of the mess hall doors.

"This should be interesting." She muttered under her breath.

An Asari Spectre stood in front of the Council waiting for her new team member. The blue woman was a little worried about the Council's state of mind. She had read the mission briefing over and over but still didn't believe it.

"Aegis, do you have any concerns about the mission?" Councilor Tevos asked.

"Ma'am, I've read the briefing but I still don't get exactly what it is you want me to do." The Spectre voiced respectfully.

"Your mission is to go back, with the tech that the Salarians have developed, and help Shepard complete his mission against the Collectors while we prepare ourselves for the Reaper attack." The Asari councilor replied.

"So, why do I need to work with Shepard? She isn't exactly known for compassion unlike her father even if he was the Butcher of Torfan." Aegis reasoned.

"With Cerberus destroyed by Miss Lawson, we have no way of knowing what the Commander did while with them. Thalia might have a better idea about what will happen." Councilor Anderson answered.

"Do you trust her to do the right thing? Merc groups are still rattled by what she did to the Blue Sun's main base, worse than what Archangel did on Omega. She's still gets to them even in a Citadel prison. They call her the God of Death." The blue woman tried to have them see reason.

"I never liked that name, seeing as I don't believe in a deity." A voice came from behind the group.

Thalia Shepard was brought into the room at the tail end of the Asari's rant by two armed guards that appeared to be on high alert. She had to smirk at the surprised faces of the people in the room. Once the human Councilor ordered the guards to remove her cuffs and leave, the Marine in her snapped to a perfect attention in front of the old captain that he returned.

"At ease, Shepard. We have a mission for you." Anderson started.

"It's a dangerous one and most likely you won't be returning meaning you'll be somebody else's problem." The Turian councilor spoke for the first time in this meeting.

"Sounds fun, what's the mission?" Thalia genuinely smiled.

"Serious matter, Shepard, whole galaxy could be destroyed." The Salarian councilor warned.

"Shepard, we want you and Spectre Aegis to go back in time and help your father fight the Collectors while we prepare for the war." The old human explained.

"Wait, you have the technology to travel through time and we are only going to use it to make the Council seem like they were ready for this all along." The young woman scoffed.

"There are bigger concerns than what you are thinking of. We are trying to save billions of lives." Councilor Valern argued.

"Keep telling yourself that. Other than that, I'm good to go." Shepard shrugged.

"Then, welcome back to the Alliance, Corporal Shepard." Councilor Anderson handed her dog tags, which were put onto her neck and admired.

"Not to interrupt but wouldn't Thalia give herself away with the last name Shepard." Aegis voiced with concern.

"Oh, he's not going to know that we're from the future or that you guys actually believe that the Reapers exists?" The newly reinstated Corporal questioned. After receiving a nod, she says, "Damn, I wanted to see him say I told you so."

"Here is Armor for you mission and may you find peace in the Goddess." Councilor Tevos dismissed and they were led from the room by C-sec officers.

"So, how old are you?" Thalia tried to start up conversation.

"I don't think this is necessary. We have our mission but it does not mean we need to speak to each other." The Asari fiercely replied.

"Geez, okay, just wanted to have a talk with someone that wasn't a criminal, guard, or therapist." The dark haired woman shrugged.

They entered a tall room in a still destroyed area of the Citadel but they had stabilized it to support life. In the middle of the room sat a big metallic machine, it was dark in color and shaped in a circular pattern. It has a console in the middle at the back wall and was just big enough for two people to stand in side by side.

"Um, did they tell you how to work this thing?" the Human turned to her partner.

"No, then again, I think they really wanted to get you out of there." Aegis replied evenly.

"You're probably right. So, I'm just going to hit this button." Was all Thalia said before hitting a big red button despite the Spectre's attempts to stop her.

There was a swirl of blue light, almost like going through a Mass Effect relay, before they were thrown forward. Both of them hit the floor hard and when looking up they were staring into the confused faces of a younger looking council. The woman's light green eyes lit with amusement at seeing that she was right.

"Holy shit, I can't believe that actually worked. Thank you button mashing approach." A look of disbelief was thrown her way from the blue woman as she laughed.

AN: So tell me what you think.


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Thank you for reading. I forgot to mention that the name God of Death is a reference to Duo Maxwell from Gundam Wing. Mass Effect doesn't belong to me.

"You idiot! That could have just killed us." Aegis yelled after she regained her sense.

"True, but now, my blue skinned friend, don't you feel so much more alive? See, your bloods pumping and you feel that excitement." Everybody was still looking at her like she was crazy. "On to business, we are here to make sure that the galaxy is prepared for the worst battle of its existence."

"Really and just what would that be?" Councilor Valern snorted.

"The reapers, of course." The slightly crazed human stated as if it was obviously.

"We have dismissed that claim. Now, I think you should leave." The Turian's mandibles flared.

"Council, I was given this to show you." The Asari pulled out a datapad to show them and handed it to Councilor Anderson.

"This shows the path of the invasion, how many ships, and what we need to fight them off. We apparently signed it." The old soldier was shocked by what he found.

"Wait, they gave you proof to give to them in the past but didn't tell us how to work their DAMN TIME MACHINE!" Thalia was floored.

"You wouldn't stop arguing with the Councilor." The blue woman calmly explained.

"Why don't we focus on the real subject here?" Councilor Tevos tried to pacify the situation. "You haven't introduced yourselves."

"Serious britches over there is Spectre Aegis and I'm Corporal Thalia Sh-Grace." She corrected herself as the blue woman in the statement glared at her.

"Why did we send an Alliance Corporal and a Spectre to give us this?" The Asari Councilor softly interrogated.

"We're not staying here on the Citadel, Ma'am. We are here to help Commander Shepard survive going through the Omega 4 relay while the Council prepares itself." The Spectre addressed the Councilor with respect while still glaring at the female human.

"And how exactly do you plan to catch up with Shepard?" Councilor Valern's ego was bruised after the revelation that the Reapers were real.

"Oh, he'll walk through that door any minute now. So, I suggest shushing about what we're really doing here." Thalia suggested with a smirk.

As if on cue, Alex Shepard walked through the door followed by a tall muscular black guy and a slender white woman. He looked exactly like the pictures Thalia had seen of her father when he was in the Alliance. He stood at a medium height with black crew cut hair and light green eyes wearing white and grey camouflage armor. Shepard starred at the group that had assembled in Councilor Anderson's chambers.

"Shepard, it's good to see you." Anderson greeted his old friend by sticking out his hand.

"Captain, how are you?" Shepard greeted with his first smile since waking up in the Lazarus Station and took his former CO's hand.

"Shepard, you dare bring Cerberus operatives into a council meeting." The Turian accused.

"Their apart of my crew and they'll follow my orders." Alex stood his ground against the councilor. "Now, what are you doing about the Collectors abducting Human colonies?"

"Actually, we are assigning these two, Spectre Aegis and Corporal Thalia Grace, to help you in the traverse and reinstating your Spectre status." As the peacekeeper of the group, the Asari Councilor informed the Commander.

"Okay, what have you been doing about the Reapers?" Shepard asked.

"Reapers proven nonexistent VI nonresponsive Sovereign not enough data." The Salarian Councilor addressed.

"How could you not get enough data? It was destroyed by the fleet and created a ton of pieces." He yelled in outrage.

"Scavengers looters no real evidence." The fast speaking alien tried to explain.

"Ugh, fine, I'll take your gifts." The first human Spectre agreed.

"Go in the embrace of the Goddess. This meeting of the council is adjourned." With those words, the holographic forms of the Council disappeared.

After they blinked out of the room, Ambassador Udina walked into the room and saw the recently revived Commander. Udina was outraged at the human Spectre because of being passed up by him for the Council seat. Aegis noticed that Thalia's face had a barely noticeable snarl and her hand was shaking violently at her side. The Asari Spectre turned her back to the others and mouthed:

"Control yourself, Thalia."

"I am." She whispered back and watched as the human Ambassador left.

The two old friends walked onto Anderson's balcony to talk away from the group. Shepard was dying to find out how Ashley was doing and where she was. Anderson could tell what his former XO wanted to ask but he knew that he couldn't answer as long as Alex was with Cerberus.

"What have you been doing since the Normandy was destroyed?" Shepard wondered.

"I've been trying to clean up and rebuild after the Geth attack. Now on to the real reason you've stayed this long, I can't tell you where Operations Chief Williams is or what's she's doing. Not while you are with Cerberus." Anderson answered.

"Ugh, damn it. I hate this but I understand. Look, I have to get back to the mission. I hope to see you again." The Commander said and left heading back to the Normandy SR-2.

They all gathered in the Comm. Room and Alex took his time to check out his new crewmates. '_Aegis seems like a strong Asari and a Spectre too. She should be useful with her biotics and combat training. Hm, no headpiece, could be a little young if so I really want to know what she went through to gain Spectre status. Corporal Grace doesn't act like a Marine most of the time but there is something familiar about the way she acts. I got to wonder why did Alliance Command send me a Corporal along with a Spectre. She must be good at her job but if she was why is she stuck at Corporal._'

"Alright, welcome to the Normandy. Can you tell me what your specialties are?" Shepard asked.

"I'm a biotic specialist as well as highly trained marksmen." Aegis answered.

"I'm a Marine, Sir." Thalia simply stated.

"Well, that's a little vague." Miranda said suspiciously.

"Maybe, we should focus on the mission, Operative." The Corporal responded with a glare.

"Grace is right. Where should we go first?" Shepard addressed his team.

"I say we should pick up the professor. He will be essential in blocking the Collectors' stasis field." The genetically engineered woman advised.

"What about Archangel? A person like that can only last so long." Aegis added her input. "Either way heading Omega first seems like a good idea."

"Okay, Joker, head to Omega. Dismissed." Jacob and Thalia snapped a salute before leaving.

AN: Next time the real fun begins. So tell me what you think and please review.


	4. Chapter 4

AN: Thank you for your reviews. I feel stupid cause I keep forgetting to give credit to where I get some of my ideas in the chapter I use them; anyway, I got the name Thalia Grace from the Percy Jackson book series. Mass Effect doesn't belong to me.

Commander Alex Shepard sat in his quarters thinking over his plan to get to Archangel. His thought process was interrupted by Joker coming over the loud speaker to tell him that the Illusive Man wanted to talk to him in the briefing room. '_Argh, what does he want now?_' Shepard thought. After reaching the Comm. Room and reaching where the table disappeared, an orange holographic circle appeared around him and the next thing he saw was the brown hair and unnaturally bright blue eyes of the Illusive Man.

"What do want? I'm busy trying to gather this team you wanted me to use." Shepard demanded not wanting to waste time.

"I hear the Council put two of their people on my ship…"

"You may have paid money to have this ship built but it's under my command. I will have anyone I damn well please on it. You should be thankful that the Council is even trying to help these colonies. Isn't that what Cerberus is for? The advancement of humanity or are you full of shit like I think you are?" The Commander interrupted as he yelled at the holographic man.

"Fine but if anything goes wrong with these people it's your fault." The Illusive Man snarled.

"Glade to see we have an agreement." The soldier smirked as the transmission was cut. "Didn't even let him say bye, Joker."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Commander. It just cut out on its own maybe EDI has a malfunction." Joker and Shepard chuckle at the pilot's words.

"I am not malfunctioning. Mr. Moreau cut the transmission." EDI stated trying to defend herself in her own computer way causing the two humans to laugh harder.

A couple hours later, they were approaching Omega. Shepard had informed Thalia and Miranda come with him to get Archangel. As they left the airlock, they were greeted by a Salarian, who was then interrupted by a Batarian.

"Aria wants to see you in Afterlife, now." He demanded.

"I'll get there when I get there." Shepard replied casually.

"Don't keep Aria waiting." The Batarian ordered again while walking away.

"Commander, I may be out place but I think we should talk to her. She may have more Intel on Archangel and Professor Solus." Thalia suggested.

"If we take too long, Archangel may end up dead." Miranda advised as well. "But, it's your call, Shepard."

"You have a point Miranda but, if we walk into this situation without proper intelligence, we could do more harm than good." Shepard said strategically.

With the decision made, the ground team quickly made their way to Afterlife. The group walked into Aria's area of the club and the gang around them drew their weapons causing Miranda and Thalia to draw theirs just waiting for the order to fire. Another Batarian started scanning the commander.

"If you're looking for weapons, you're not doing a good job." Alex pulled his pistol from his waist and waved it in front of the Batarian's face.

"I have to be careful anyone could be wearing your face." Aria said unworried with her back to the group then turned and sat on the couch with her legs crossed. "So, what brings a dead Spectre to Omega?"

"I'm trying to track down Archangel." Shepard informed sitting down on the couch.

"You and half of Omega." The Asari answered. "You want him dead too?"

"No, I'm building a team and he's on my list." The soldier stated.

"You're going to make some enemies teaming up with Archangel assuming you can even get to him. He's in a bit of trouble right now." The woman said uncaring.

"What kind of trouble?" The Commander wondered.

"The local merc groups have banded together to take him down. They've got him cornered but it sounds like they are having trouble finishing him off. They've started hiring anyone who could help them. They're using a private room for recruiting here. I'm sure you can make it." She laughed.

"Which merc groups are after him?" He questioned.

"Blue Suns, Blood Pack, and Eclipse. They're Omega's major players. Unless they're at war, you will never see them together but one thing they hate more than each other is Archangel." Aria stated firmly.

"Sounds like I don't have a lot of time." Shepard dismissed as he got up from the couch.

"You have all the time in the world; Archangel not so much." Aria remarked uncaring.

The group ran down the steps and immediately towards the recruiter standing outside the private room. They told him that they were here to sign up and he pointed them inside the room. As they walked in, there was another Blue Sun explaining things to another freelancer about the conditions of his service then called for the next person.

"You look like you could do some damage." He said as he looked them over.

"If this is the place to go after Archangel, sure." Shepard stated.

"It is. The pay is five hundred credits each and if you die your friends don't collect your share. You're going to need weapons and armor, looks like you got that covered. No, this does not make you apart of the Blue Suns, Blood Pack, or Eclipse. You're strictly freelance. Your driver will explain anything else you need to know. He's over in the transport dock." The recruiter informed and they turned to leave. "Next."

"Is this the place to sign up?" A young looking boy walked in.

"How old are you?" Shepard wondered looking this kid over.

"Old enough. I grew up on Omega. I know how to handle a gun." He answered holding up a pistol and continued, "I paid fifty credits for this."

"Sure, Kid, all that's going to get you is a bullet in the head." Thalia scoffed. "But sign up if it will make you feel better."

The commander pulled the gun from his hand and jammed it before pushing it back into the boy's chest. The guy looked mad about his pistol being broken.

"Get your money back." Alex said and they left the recruiting room before turning on the Alliance Corporal under his command. He glared saying, "I'll talk to you about your actions after we pick up Archangel but until then don't advise people on what to do."

"Aye Aye, Sir." She acknowledged her order.

The team continued their way through the club before hanging a right and going to the transport area. There was another Blue Suns merc standing in front of a space car. They said they were ready to go and off they went to the merc base. Once they landed and got out of the car, the driver turned to them and asked if they had any questions.

"What is the plan?" Shepard asked.

"We've infiltrated his base but he sealed the lower levels and barricaded himself in a room. Only way across is over a bridge but he has a perfect vantage point. We're sending you freelancers in as a diversion while our infiltration team breaks into his little hole." The Batarian explained. "We had a Gunship before he damaged it."

"Sounds like a suicide mission." Miranda mumbled.

"A Gunship for just one guy." The Commander was astonished.

"He had a whole team but we already took care of them. Now, we just got to worry about him but he's wearing down." Salkie informed.

"So, what happens if the infiltration team fails?" Alex questioned.

"I don't know about that. I would try Sergeant Cathka when you see him or one of the bosses but don't be surprised if they don't talk to you, freelancer." He answered and walked off.

"It looks like it will be trouble getting out of there." The genetically altered woman said.

"Let's worry about one thing at a time." Shepard suggested.

"I have run a diagnostic of the area. I believe it would be beneficial to sabotage the gangs before going for Archangel." EDI's voice rang in their ears.

As they explored the base, they came across the gang bosses and figured out more information about the operation. Shepard had found a datapad lying around talking about killing Aria and taking over. Miranda had hacked an YMIR Mech's friend/foe identification software. The team crossed over to the side where they were to meet Cathka. Shepard walked back where he saw a Batarian working on the Gunship while the rest of his group stayed back a little.

"You Cathka?" He asked.

"Sergeant Cathka." The Batarian corrected before setting down his torch and lighting up a cigarette. "You must be the group Salkie mentioned."

"Yeah; is there is anything I should know?" Shepard pried for information.

"All you need to know is that you're going over that wall as a distraction to buy our Infiltration team some time to get in there. So, don't get any big ideas." Cathka advised.

"Will you be supporting us in the Gunship?" The soldier was carefully interrogating.

"No one flies her except Tarak." The mercenary explained and a beep came from the computer. "Alright, Bravo Team go, go. I should get back to work."

When the merc had turned his back to the Commander, he focused on the torch that Cathka had left on the table. He picked it up as the other watched the freelancers jump over the wall. Walking over to the Blue Sun, he patted him on the shoulder before shoving the torch into his back. Once Shepard walked back to the rest of the squad, they jumped the wall and immediately started firing at the freelancers.

It wasn't long until their enemy figured out that they were with Archangel and fired at them as well. The freelancers were quick work and when they entered the base Miranda overloaded a flammable canister, burning the guy over it. The two soldiers of the group were picking off targets while protecting the biotic. They fought their way upstairs and gunned down the merc closest to the door before finishing off the rest

The team entered the room with their guns drawn and saw Archangel standing at the window with a sniper rifle. He held up a finger at them to be quiet as he lined up his shot for the last freelancer. After executing a perfect headshot, he turned back to the group and walked over to a couch pulling off his helmet along the way. Garus chuckled at Shepard looking surprised.

"Shepard, I thought you were dead." The Turian smirked.

"Garus, I can't believe it." Shepard had a giant smile on his face. "How did you manage to piss off every major merc group on Omega?"

"It wasn't easy. I really had to work at it." Garus sarcastically stated.

"So, how did you get yourself into this situation?" The Commander wondered.

"I let my feelings get in the way and it cost me my entire squad." He sighed.

"So, what should we do now?" Alex asked his old friend.

"I've been holding them off by funneling those witless idiots into my scope but with you here we could wait for a break in their defenses and run for it." The Turian suggests. "Now, let's see what they're doing." Garus lifted his rifle to check what was going on and he saw some Eclipse Salarians jumping over the wall. "Hm, a scouting party. Looks like Eclipse. I think they figured out their Infiltration team failed." He handed Shepard the rifle and the soldier lined up a head shot firing, hitting one in the head.

"One less now. I always hated sneaking around." Shepard said as he handed the rifle back to him with a smirk on his face. "We can head down and stop them there while you take them out from up here."

"It's good to see you haven't changed, Shepard, and here take this." Garus chuckled as he handed the Commander a Vindicator Battle Rifle.

The Squad ran down to the first floor and set up a defense. Thalia had lay down with her sniper rifle behind some tall shelves while Shepard and Miranda moved up and stood behind the pillars at the end of their side of the bridge. The heavy mech was dropped on the bridge and opened fired on all the Eclipse that were coming over the wall. Soon, they had drawn the leader out as no matter how many they sent over they were either picked off at the wall by sniper fire, killed by the mech, or finished off by the two forward squad members. Jarrod had finished off the heavy mech and that let any Eclipse alive start moving forward. Both snipers were taking out the small fry letting Alex and Miranda to focus on the boss and finish Jarrod off. As a hiding merc was about to shoot the Commander in the back, his head exploded and Shepard turned to see the last dead Eclipse merc.

"You good, Sir?" Corporal Grace's voice came over his comm link.

"Yes, thank you. Let's regroup and get back to Garus." Shepard ordered.

"This is going smoothly and we got Jarrod in the process. Only Blood Pack and Blue Suns left." Garus said to them as they walked in.

"Do you think we could make it out of here?" Alex asked.

"Hm, let's see." He raised the sniper rifle for a better look. "They've reinforced the other side heavily but they're not coming over the wall. What are they waiting for?"

An explosion rocked the complex and the commander questioned, "What was that?"

"They must have gotten into the lower levels. I guess they had to start using their brains sometime. Shepard, I need you to seal the shutters in the basement." Garus requested.

"How do I get to the basement?" Shepard turned to his friend.

"The door is right underneath the stairs." The Turian pointed out.

"Okay, I can't leave you up here alone so Corporal Grace will stay up here to help." The Commander looked at the Marine.

"I'll keep him alive as long as I breathe, Sir." The young woman promised fiercely.

After those words, the other two member of the team sprinted down the stairs and to the door. Getting down to the basement, they made their way, killing the few members of the Blood Pack that had made it into the compound, to the first shutter and hitting the button, taking out any members of the Blood Pack getting close to the door. The Vorcha were a tough enemy but the Krogan proved a bigger challenge with their superior armor. After the shutter slammed closed, they headed left and vaulted over the cover in their way. More Vorcha came around a corner and one had a flamethrower.

"Miranda, use overload on the Pyro." Alex ordered.

The Operative did as commanded and the pyro was blown up taking those closest with him, clearing the corner for Shepard to jump the cover. They were receiving updates from Garus about the battle that was going on up in the main part of the building. They hit the second button for the shutter and Miranda warped away the armor on the charging Krogan allowing Shepard to kill it just before it reached the door. They headed back down the hallway and sprinted to the other side at Garus' hurry for them to speed it up down there.

The room they entered was bigger and had more space, plus more enemies. Varren ran at the two and they had to focus their shots on those first as not to be exposed to the Blood Pack members. Miranda would warp them while Shepard switch to his shotgun taking them out while using adrenaline rush. Once the Varren were out of the way, Shepard would sprint forward to take out the enemies with his shotgun. Miranda was protecting his back using her warp to slow charging Krogan. Finally reaching the button, they hit and started taking out Varren running at them hoping to kill them before they reached the doors. A Varren had almost reached the door when it slammed shut in front of it.

The main force of the Blood Pack had entered the top part of the compound and a Krogan next to Garm was dead from a headshot by Garus. The leader had started towards the stairs when a Vorcha next to him died of a head shot by the Commander as his partner and he emerged from the basement. As Garm and three other Krogan ran up the stairs, the rest stayed down to keep the other team busy while the other two humans away from the Turian. When they enter, Garus and Thalia started firing at backing up to keep out of their charging range. Shepard and Miranda finished off the group downstairs before ascending the stairs and taking out a Krogan that stood in the doorway. With the four of them, they made quick work of the other two lackeys. Garm charged at the Turian but was slowed by a warp from Miranda giving Garus time to move and Shepard used adrenaline rush to help place fatal shots to the Krogan leader. With him dead, they regrouped at the center of the room.

"Only the Blue Suns left, think we can make it?" Shepard wondered.

"May…" Garus was cut short by a Gunship appearing in the window. "Damn, I thought I took that out."

"They fixed it but not completely. I made sure of that." Shepard yelled in response.

As troop repelled in at the far right window, the Gunship had dropped back and the little squad ducked behind cover taking out as many enemies as they could. More started entering from the bottom and Shepard took Miranda down there with him to kill them off. After finishing Jentha, Tarak yelled Archangel and they turned shooting at the Gunship but it opened fired and they dove for cover. Garus stepped out to shoot it down then after a couple shots Tarak fired a missile but Thalia ran to push him. She shoved him just enough for the heat to the skin the left side of his face and them both to fly forward as it hit behind them. Shepard had been just outside the door when the missile struck he immediately ran to help his friend but found him bleeding heavily from his face. With the Gunship back in the window, Shepard ducked for cover and pulled his grenade launcher. The dark haired woman shook her head to try and clear it when she saw Garus lying in the middle of the floor she ran to him and threw him over her shoulder hauling him behind a wall, ignoring the pain where her back had hit a wall.

"You're going to be okay. You're going to be okay." Thalia kept whispering like a mantra to the unconscious Turian.

After a warp from Miranda and well placed grenades from Shepard, the Gunship blew up. The Commander turned back to his old friend. Just as Shepard was going to give up on him, Gaurs gasped awake and in a mas amount of pain.

"We need to get him to Chakwas, now. Both of you." Shepard ordered grabbing Garus and they made a run for it back to the space car that had brought them there.

After getting back to the main part of Omega, they dragged the injured Turian through the crowd and to the airlock of the Normandy being met by the Doctor the moment the doors opened. Both were forced into the medical bay, despite the corporal's protest. A while later, Garus was up and walking around with a big bandage covering the scars he had on his face.

AN: Sorry it took me a while to get this up but please review. If you have any questions, please ask.


	5. Chapter 5

AN: Sorry for taking so long to update. Thank you for your reviews. Mass effect doesn't belong to me.

"We did everything we could but…" Jacob was interrupted by the swishing of the communication room's doors from Garus walking in. "Damn, tough bastard."

"No one will give me a mirror. So, how do I look?" Garus asked.

"No better than usual, Buddy." Alex smirked.

"Well, everyone was always ignoring you and going after me about time you got a chance." The injured Turian chuckled then groaned in pain. "Oh, don't make me laugh."

"Commander, I'll be at my station if you need anything." The Cerberus man saluted, about-faced, and left.

"Garus, how you holding up?" Shepard turned his attention to his friend.

"I'm ready to fight, Shepard, just point me where you need me." Garus replied. "Now, What are you doing working for Cerberus? I thought you would have despised them after all our run-ins with them while hunting Saren."

""I don't work for them. They brought me back to life and set me to fight the Collectors. They're stealing our colonies." The Commander answered before smirking. "But now you're here and we're walking into Hell."

"You realize that plan involves me walking into Hell with you." He smirked back in good nature.

"Want to tell me how you ended up fighting gangs on Omega?" Shepard inquired.

"After we beat Saren, I went back to working at C-sec but I didn't want to deal with red tape. Omega is full of criminals, so all I had to do was point and shoot. Much like when you were forming your team, people realized I could get things done and they joined up. My team was filled with many different types from ex-military to former gang members looking for redemption. I had a Bartarian as my tech guy, not the nicest guy but he could hack anything." Garus explained.

"No offence but what made you different than any other gang on Omega?" Alex wondered curiously.

"We didn't shake down innocent people for money. We weren't getting paid for taking down merchs or the gangs. No harming civilians that was our goal. We would lead our targets into will prepared kill zones away from the people." There was a cemented look in his eyes as he says this.

"So, what lead to the situation we found you in?" The Commander asked.

"I was betrayed by one of my own people." Garus spat out distastefully. "Sidonous, a Turian, told me about a job but when I got to the meeting place no one was there. I returned to find that all, but two, of my squad were dead. They didn't last much longer. I put some feelers out and found he booked transport off world and cleared his private accounts. He sold us out then split but I will get him." His mandibles flared in anger then he semi-calmed himself before continuing, "Look, I'll be in the main battery room if you need me."

"Garus, if you need anything, just ask." Shepard let him walk out with a nod.

Deciding to go see his Yeoman, the Commander wondered what Kelly would have to say about their newest crew members. Kelly was standing at her terminal like usual and as he approached she turned to him.

"What can I do for you commander?" The short red headed woman asked with a smile.

"I just wanted to know what you thought of our new squad members." Alex questioned.

"Well, Garus seems so sad; I just want to give him a hug. He lost his whole team and I'm afraid it will hurt his focus" Kelly reported on the newest recruit.

"Garus is tough and knows that he's not alone." Shepard informed with a determination to be there for his friend. "What about our Council representatives?"

"Aegis didn't tell me much but she seemed like a very balanced and wide Asari. She has a neutral tone when asked about her past but I believe there is years more wisdom behind her eyes to go with her training as a Spectre." The Yeoman gave a deep sigh before going on, "Thalia, on the other hand, wouldn't talk to me at all but from what I picked up on her body language she doesn't like working a board this particular ship. From your mission report, she has a strong sense of right and wrong but her respect for you stops her from probably blowing up the Normandy.

"Thanks for the information, Kelly. Is there anything else I should know?" The Commander already heading to the elevator just catching her saying he had messages.

The dark haired soldier reached the Crew deck and went to the starboard Observation deck. Aegis was sitting on a couch reading a book until Shepard cleared his throat, sitting on the couch after she had offered.

"What can I do for you, Commander?" The blue toned woman asked curiously.

"Just wanted to follow up on how you are doing. Is the crew giving you any trouble? I also want to learn a bit more about you." Alex answered.

"I'm fine, Commander, and your crew isn't a bother. I'm not sure what you want to know." Aegis replied in confusion.

"Just simple stuff, like where are you from or how you got to be a Spectre?" Shepard wondered.

"I've lived all over Asari and Human space. As for my Spectre status, I would rather not speak about that." She wanted to avoid giving any details that could lead to him finding out about their mission.

"Okay, I'll respect your wish." He stood up from the couch before continuing, "I'll be here if you need anything. This is called a suicide mission for a reason so I don't want my crew going in with regrets. I've got to speak to your partner before I leave for our next mission."

"Don't worry about me. I've made peace with what I must do." Aegis seriously commented as he turned to the door.

Alex walked back to the elevator to take it down into engineering. Once arriving, he headed to the starboard cargo hold. He stopped at the door at the sight of the dark haired woman in her standard BDU's dismantling her rifle while humming. Alex could have sworn he was looking at Ashley but shook himself from thinking on that any further for the moment. Stepping in the rest of the way, he coughed to get her attention. Thalia spun around and snapped into a salute when she saw the Commander.

"At ease, I want to speak to you about your actions on Omega." The dark haired woman stiffened her back waiting to be chastised. "You deliberate advised a kid to seek being a freelancer despite me trying to stop him but then ran into gun fire to pull a Turian you hardly knew out of the way, while injured. I think I understand why you haven't made it past Corporal. Can you explain your actions?"

"Sir, we needed Garus for the team. That kid was making a choice and he would have to learn from his mistakes." Thalia answered dryly.

"So, killing him would make him learn what exactly? That he'd regret it for a split second before the bullet entered his skull." Shepard sarcastically questioned.

"It's people like him, whose are so eager to kill people, are responsible for my parents being killed!" She snapped furiously turning her back to the Commander.

"I'm sorry about your parents but that doesn't make getting that kid killed a good thing to do." He said before exiting the room as the door swished closed he heard a loud yell and a loud crash.

AN: So tell me what you think and review, please. Also tell me who you would like to see go on the Mordin recruit mission. Sorry again for taking so long.


	6. Chapter 6

AN: Thank you for the reviews. Mass Effect doesn't belong to me.

Commander Shepard had called his squad into the debriefing room to plan whose going with to grab the professor. EDI had informed him of a quarantine on the slums due to a plague. He looked around the room to see what their thoughts on the matter were and who he brings along. After a short debate on whether to risk the lives of the non-human crew members, it was decided that Thalia and Jacob would go with the soldier while he had Miranda take the engineers to get their FB6 couplings. The team followed a familiar path to Aria to get some more information on the conditions in the slums.

"Shepard, surprised to see you got out of that mess alive. What do you want?" the Asari greeted with an emotionless tone.

"First, here, seems when the gangs got done with Archangel, they were coming after you." Alex said handing the datapad to the sitting woman.

"Would someone like to tell me how this slipped the net?" Aria asked angrily throwing the datapad at her Bartarian lieutenant.

"I'll look into it." He replied scared.

"See that you do. So, you've earned a bit of my time." The gang leader gestured for him to sit again. "What else did you need?"

"I'm looking for Mordin Solus. Do you know where I can find him?" Shepard wondered.

"The Salarian doctor? Last I heard he was helping plague victims over in the quarantine zone. I've always liked Mordin. He's as likely to shoot you as he is to heal you." Aria smirked at the thought. "Just don't get him talking, he never shuts up."

"How do I find him?" The Commander asked.

"If you really need to find him, you could try and take a shuttle down into the quarantine zone, it's just past the apartments. No guarantee they will let you in though." She advised.

"I should get going then." Shepard stood and started to leave.

"Yeah, just try not to bring the plague back with you."

The closer they get to the quarantine zone, they hear two people arguing. There at the end of the hall was a Human girl arguing with Turian guard.

"Listen Lady, I already told you no one goes into quarantine zone." The Turian shouted.

"I'm human, asshole. Humans can't get the plague. I've got to get my stuff before looters get it." The woman shouted pleadingly angry back.

"The thing affects every other species out there. So, no one gets in until its run its course. We're not taking any chances." The guard repeated.

"There's a Salarian named Mordin Solus in the Slums, I'm going in to get him." Shepard interrupted the argument.

"The Doctor? The crazy bastard opened a clinic a few months ago. Blue suns weren't too happy when he moved in. I hear Mordin's trying to deal with the plague. I wish him luck but the area is still locked down. Our orders are to wait until the plague or the Blue Suns kill everyone then go in and clean up." The Turian informed.

"Listen you're stuck here until the quarantine is over. That could take weeks. What you really need is to get this problem solved right now. That's what I do – solve problems. Let me in, and I'll get this straightened out." The soldier reasoned convincingly.

"You think you can fix this, why not? The quarantine is more to keep the infected in then, anyway, I'll radio ahead and tell them you're coming in." He assured causing the refugee in the alley to get pissed.

"Wait, you're stopping me but not them? You son of a bitch!" She yelled in the Turian's face.

"You don't have a grenade launcher, Lady. Get lost." The guard said simply and the group walked past him to the shuttle.

"Sir, from our talk earlier, I thought you wouldn't want to bring me along anymore." Thalia couldn't keep her curiosity quiet anymore.

"Well, I've problems with your attitude but you are one hell of a marksman. Anyway, I brought you for another motive. You are the only non-alien team member that doesn't work for Cerberus and I'm hoping Mordin will trust us a bit more." The dark haired commander answered honestly and saw the Alliance corporal nod in reluctant acceptance.

They arrived at the Slums and the soldiers drew their assault rifles while Jacob pulled his pistol. They charged a head going past the other guards that let them pass without incident and through another door. As they headed down a hallway, the squad saw two Blue Suns mercs standing and talking, not paying attention to their surroundings. Shepard activated his adrenaline rush to gun down one while Jacob used pull and Thalia shot a concussive shot at the unstable merc killing him.

The group tried to ignore the sight and smell of burning bodies. Checking out a locked apartment for anybody, all they found was a Turian that had tried to claw his way out before he was killed by the plague. The squad returned back to where they had come from and found a nearly dead Bartarian. The sick alien was cursing the human race for the plague but became more agreeable once the commander gave him medi-gel to keep him breathing for now. With the promise to send someone to get him, they left in the direction of the clinic as told to them by the infected Bartarian. Checking another locked apartment and finding no luck with a survivor, the squad came to a fork and before they could head right Thalia put her arm out stopping them.

"Sir, Blue Suns on a platform that direction and questionable cover at best." The young soldier informed with a whisper after she caught the sight of the blue armor.

"Okay, there are steps that way it may lead to a high rise where we can have the high ground and with Jacob's pull they won't have much cover." Shepard said keeping is voice low.

"Sir, there may be some posted on the far wall and they could move to that area to the left of them and separate our focus of fire. I could draw their fire getting behind one of these tables keep them on that ledge for you two to pick them off." Thalia suggested with a determined look in her eye.

"Are you sure about that either one of us could do the same thing?" Jacob asked while the commander considered his options.

"Jacob, if you draw their fire then your pull is practically useless as they'll be firing non-stop at you and the commander needs to be able to tell you who to use it on." The dark haired woman answered.

"Fine, you draw their fire but you better not die doing this." Alex agreed hesitantly.

"Wasn't exactly plan A, Sir." Thalia replied as they separated causing the commander to chuckle.

The young soldier looked out waiting for the mercs to become distracted before sprinting into the center back cover. She waited until she heard the commander whisper through her communication link. Equipping incendiary ammo, she blasted the mercs on the wall while Shepard was sniping at the ones ducking into cover. Jacob was using pull when an enemy would get too close to the wall leaving them to be shot down by either him or Thalia. If one would try to sneak to their left for cover the Alliance woman would shot them through the door way. After all the mercs had been killed, the two men rejoined the female soldier.

After searching another locked apartment, this time they came across a Human couple and convinced them to go to Mordin's clinic after a while with the way hopefully cleared. The squad came upon a fight already in progress between the Blue Suns and the Vorcha. The young soldier pointed to some stairs indicating she was heading up that way to clear it and use it as a sniper's perch. Shepard and Jacob charged easily taking out the Vorcha with their incendiary ammo. It wasn't long before Krogan started appearing along with Varren and pyros. The group took out the pyros and damaged most of the armor on those with it by hitting the canisters on their backs. Using the explosive canisters around the area, the enemy was soon overwhelmed and taken out.

After regrouping, the group checked the surrounding area to clear it. They only found two looters, who were nicely threatened to stop or wind up dead. They rounded the corner and saw a sign pointing the way to the clinic. The squad followed the signs meeting no resistance along the way and arrived outside the clinic, putting their guns away as they entered with a warning from the guards. A nurse gestured to the back when they asked about finding the professor and they followed the hall, where they could hear a fast conversation going on. The group got to the end of the hallway turning right when they see the Salarian.

"Professor Mordin Solus?" Shepard asked just to be sure.

"Hmm, don't recognize you from area. Too well armed to be refugees. No mercenary uniform. Quarantine still in effect. Here for something else. Vorcha? Crew to clean them out? Unlikely. Vorcha a symptom, not a cause. The plague? Investigating possible use as bio-weapon? No, too many guns, not enough data equipment. Soldiers not scientists. Yes. Yes. Yes. Hired guns maybe…" The professor was cut off.

"Relax, Mordin. I'm Commander Shepard, and I came here to find you. I'm on a crucial mission and I need your help." The commander explained.

"Mission. What mission? No. too busy. Clinic understaffed. Plague spreading too fast. Who sent you?" Mordin rattled again barley taking a breath.

"Ever heard of an organization called Cerberus?" Alex asked not wanting to deceive the Salarian.

"Crossed paths on occasion. Thought they only worked with Humans. Alliance presence disturbing. If allied with Cerberus now." The doctor scratched at his chin in thought.

"No, the Alliance is only loaning me to them by the will of the Council. This mission is bigger than old grudges." Thalia informed seriously.

"I'm on a mission to shut down the Collectors, and I need your help." Shepard brought the conversation back to the reason they were there.

"Collectors? Interesting. Plague hitting these slums is engineered. Collectors one of few groups with technology to design it. Our goals may be similar. But must stop plague first. Already have a cure. Need to distribute it at environmental control center. Vorcha guarding it. need to kill them." Mordin said.

"I get in and deal with the Vorcha." The commander volunteered as he finished the air shut down.

"Oh, come on really." The young soldier complained.

"Vorcha have shut down the environmental systems. Trying to kill everyone. Need to get power back on before district suffocates. Here, take plague cure. Also, bonus in good faith. Weapon from dead Blue Suns mercs. May come in handy against Vorcha. One more thing. Daniel. One of my assistants. Went into Vorcha territory. Looking for victims. Hasn't come back." The Salarian requested handing over the mentioned items.

"If I see him, I'll do what I can to help." Shepard tried to assure the professor.

"Thank you. Told him not to go. But he's smart. Bright future. I hope." Mordin turned back to his table.

Before they left, the commander told the doctor about the sick Bartarian. The squad entered a wide room and was immediately engaged in a fight with the Vorchas and Krogans. They set up behind cover working their way through the enemies. Once the last of the enemy gang fell, another wave descended from the far stairs and they were soon taken out too. The squad made their way upstairs and came to a door on their left. Hearing voices coming through the door, Shepard stopped the team and positioned themselves around the door. Once they entered all attention was drawn to them, they saw a group of Bartarians threatening a human man in a scientist coat. Shepard figured this was Daniel and convinced the enemy group to see reason and let him go. After promising they could go, Shepard told Daniel to go back to the clinic because Mordin needed him.

The Environmental Control Center was met with resistance as the Vorcha were trying to stop the group. After making to the air control, they added the cure and turned only to find more Vorcha had appeared. They fought through the enemy with difficulty as the Vorcha had numbers and the high ground. They had made it down one of the side hallways and faced another group of Vorcha and a charging Krogan. After taking out the opposition, the team made it into the first fan room and turned it on before taking a moment to collect themselves and check ammo.

They fought their way through the hordes changing weapons once ammo ran out and dodging around rockets as charging Krogan made it hard to stay in cover. They made it down into the second hallway and took out the few enemies left before entering the room and turning the second fan on. With the system back online, they headed back to the clinic fighting any lingering enemies. They arrived and went straight to Mordin who thanked them for saving Daniel and left said assistant in charge as they took off back to the Normandy. When the group got back, Miranda informed them that the couplings had been installed and they were ready to go whenever Shepard ordered it.

AN: That's all for now. Who do you want me to pick up next and who do you want to go? Please review and tell me. Thank you for reading.


	7. Chapter 7

AN: Thank you for reviewing and reading. I really wish I could update more often but sometimes I just get too busy; however, I will work on getting updates up regularly. Mass effect doesn't belong to me.

Miranda starred in shock at the message she just got from the Illusive Man. It said for her to try and get the Council assigned people off the Normandy so they didn't have to worry about the Council and Alliance getting their hands on Cerberus information. '_Some things wrong here. The Illusive Man should be encouraging the support we are getting from the government. I doubt that they would put people on the ship to try and get information on Cerberus when they have bigger things to worry about. However, an order is an order._' Miranda thought as she headed to the elevator thinking that it would be best to do it while the commander was debriefing Mordin.

Down in the starboard cargo bay, Aegis felt that she should have a talk with her partner.

"You really shouldn't risk your life like that." The Spectre stated seriously. "The Council brought you on this mission to help figure out Shepard's moves. You can't do that dead."

"Well, the Council still doesn't get how he thinks while I've only gone on two missions with him and I get what he does. If it comes down to letting people die or saving them even if it costs him, he'll choose to save lives. That's who he is now not the Butcher of Torfan as people like to still call him." Thalia informed with a smirk.

"You are really making it difficult for me to trust you will focus on the real mission and not revenge for something that hasn't happened yet." Aegis warned narrowing her eyes.

"And, why shouldn't I? I could save them and get rid of the nightmares of them being shot down. Did you know that? I watched as my parents were killed right in front of me. I saw my home destroyed by gangs and slavers. You don't get to order me around like what I see EVERY DAMN TIME I close my eyes isn't important. I will focus on the mission at hand right now but if I get an opening then I will do what I want. Damned the consequences." The soldier snarled glaring at the Asari. "Now leave."

Aegis opened her mouth to respond but closed it when they heard the door opening. Miranda was surprised to see both women down there as she wanted to focus on the soldier first, thinking she would be easier.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to intrude." The Cerberus operative turned to head back out but was stopped.

"No, it's cool. She was just leaving." Thalia glared at the Spectre until she was out the door before turning back to her snarky self. "What can I do for you, Princess?"

"You can start by calling me Miranda or Operative Lawson. Next, you can tell me why exactly did the Alliance choose you for this mission?" Miranda inquired with contempt.

"Okay, Miranda, I think they chose me 'cause I'm good at reading people. See, I know when I'm being set up for something or when someone wants to make sure we all get killed." The dark haired woman informed.

"Really? That's why? We are forming a squad of specialist and masters at what they do, even your Spectre partner must be great at what she does, but you have no powers or are even intelligent enough to rank with the group we are picking up." The genetically modified woman said with disgust.

"Ah, I see what's going on. The Illusive Man is scared we'll ruin his chance at seeing this mission fail." This caused the Cerberus loyalist to look questionably at Thalia. "What you haven't noticed? We are flying around in a ship with the Cerberus logo on it and I've seen the dossiers for the people we are picking up. A Krogan warlord who is more likely to try and take over than work with you. A convict that's more likely to kill us all in our sleep. I don't think he knew Archangel was Garus but I mean, come on, a vigilante against gangs and the like, yeah, okay, tell me that would work. Mordin, a professor that has run across Cerberus a couple of times would distrust you. See, the team was doomed from the beginning. The Illusive Man is trying to make this fail or why would he object so strongly against our help. He wants the galaxy to think that the government doesn't care but Cerberus does; however, what he doesn't get is that this tea could stand together and succeed due to one man. Commander Shepard has a way of making people believe in a cause no matter the consequences."

"You're wrong… You have to be." Miranda flew out of the room.

"Wish I was but you're the one that tells me this." Thalia sighed under her breath.

Miranda was in bed that night but couldn't stop thinking. '_She can't be right about the Illusive Man. He wouldn't risk the entire galaxy with some stupid agenda. He knows the Reaper threat is real and he wants to stop them. I can't let her get to me but she does make sense. No, I can't start doubting Cerberus when they have done so much for me. That bitch is just trying to get in my head._' Unfortunately for her, the seed had already been planted.

Garus found himself unable to sleep so he stepped into the kitchen area to find himself something to drink. There he saw the man that held so much respect for sitting at a table.

"Hello, Commander. What are you doing up?" The scared Turian wondered.

"Hey, Garus, I just couldn't sleep. It's been hard to do since I was brought back to life. Everything has changed and to me it seems like I can't catch up." Shepard confided in his longtime friend.

"It was hard on all of us, especially Williams, but to us it was two years. I guess for you it seemed shorter." Garus said.

"I remember it so vividly. I can feel the oxygen leaving my lungs and struggling as I fall towards the planet below then I wake up like it was some dream. All I thought of as I died was how I didn't want to leave Ashley. Now, I can't bring myself to send her a message. I don't want to hurt her." Alex could feel his eyes tear.

"I don't want to tell you what you should do, Commander, but maybe you should message her and let her decide what she wants." He suggested softly.

"Yeah, maybe I'll do that. Thanks, Garus." The commander stated as he stood to leave.

"Anytime, Commander." Garus remarked as he watched his leader walk away.

AN: Please review and tell me what you think. I know I got a review that wanted more crew interaction so I'm wonder if maybe you would like for me to skip over or summarize the missions and focus on the after. Please let me know and thanks for reading.


	8. Chapter 8

AN: Thanks for reviewing. Sorry, it has taken longer than I wanted to update but I got bogged down in life. Mass Effect doesn't belong to me.

The mission to Korlus for the Krogan warlord was not much of a success in Shepard's book sine Okeer killed himself. He did get to see his fellow Spectre in action and he was not unimpressed with her combination of biotics and marksmanship. Now, he stood in waiting for the rest of the squad to talk on their new Krogan paperweight. The commander waited until he knew everyone was in before asking the opinions of his team.

"Okay, we have a cloned Krogan sleeping in a pod in the port cargo hold. What should we do about it?" Alex asked.

"We have no way to know if it'll be stable. I say we hand it over to Cerberus and let them learn anything useful from it." Miranda voiced her opinion.

"Commander, Okeer said he put all his information on the Collectors in his creation maybe we should allow him to prove himself." Aegis weighed in.

"And if he starts killing us all?" The black haired woman wondered sarcastically.

"EDI, how fast can the cargo hold be vented if there's a problem?" The Commander's question to the ship's computer caused some eyebrows to be raised.

"The cargo bay can be vented in twenty-eight seconds, Commander." EDI informed the room.

"Hey, whoa, I'm down in the cargo hold. So, you go through with that plan of yours a little warning might be nice." Thalia stated her voice rose slightly before clearing her throat, "Anyway, prove your worth as a leader to him and he'll follow you."

"I agree with Corporal Grace, Shepard. Wrex backed down on Virmire 'cause you proved a point. If he really is a perfect Krogan, I think you could get him to see your point." Garus said shocking the crew.

"Professor, Jacob, you've been silent, what are your thoughts on this?" Shepard turned to the silent team members.

"I'm good with whatever you think is right, Shepard. You've proven that you get shit done so I can get behind having an intimidating Krogan on the team." Jacob answered sincerely.

"Computing statistical analysis of positives and negatives Krogans unpredictable looking forward to seeing results." Mordin weighed scientifically.

"Alright, I'll head down to wake our new guest." Alex dismissed.

Shepard stopped in the armory to grab his hand cannon, feeling that he may need it should things take a turn for the worst. Catching sight of the picture of Ashley on his desk he sighed wishing she was here to help. Something else caught his attention but he lost it almost as soon as he the thought crossed his mind. He entered the elevator which was empty except one person. Seeing her leaning against the wall with her eyes closed, Alex felt like he was looking Ashley and it caused a small smile to come to his face. The Commander cleared his throat causing her to snap her eyes open.

"What are you still doing in the elevator?" Shepard wondered suspiciously.

"Waiting for you. I wanted to make sure you had back up for when you unleashed the Krogan." Thalia answered. "I'll be right outside the door."

"That's what I got this for." Alex said raising his weapon.

"Well, you're my Commander and I've got your back." She gave a slight smirk.

"Good to know, Grace." Shepard replied honestly.

Shepard stepped out from dealing with Grunt and there standing with her shotgun. He gave a smile at the nearly perfect match and couldn't help but think back to Virmire when Ashley was ready to jump in should anything happen while he tried to talk down Wrex.

"No need for that, Williams." Alex said not thinking and both froze. "Shit, I'm sorry I wasn't thinking."

"It's…" Thalia cleared her throat to calm down, "It's okay, Sir."

The future soldier walked off not looking all that well and Shepard couldn't help but smack himself on his head. He proceeded into the elevator to go and get some rest to hopefully clear his head. He lay in his bed holding his picture of Ashley above his head just shocked at how much she looks like the Alliance Corporal in his cargo bay. '_Geez, you could think they were related or something but that's not possible. I miss you so much, Ash. I would feel better if you were here with me instead of someplace I don't even know where._' With those thoughts, he fell asleep holding the picture to him like his life depended on it.

While the Commander was trying to get his head cleared, his future daughter was curled into a corner deep in thought. '_I can't believe that just happened. So many people tell me I'm more like my dad but I can't believe he called me that. Shit, if he figures out that I'm his kid then we're screwed. I don't know if that would be such a bad thing but if they find out what I'll do then they'll be ashamed of me. I couldn't stand those looks if they found out._'

AN: Please review and tell me what you think. I really hope to be able to update soon since I hate it when I can't get to it.


	9. Chapter 9

AN: Thank you for reviewing and I'm sorry it has taken me so long to update. I got a job and it doesn't give me a lot of free time but I won't abandon any of my stories.

Things between the two Shepards were still tense after the Commander's slip up. While Alex was picking up Subject Zero from Purgatory and testing out his new Krogan addition, the future Spectre decided to talk to her companion. The dark haired soldier seemed more put off by something since she was just sitting against the wall in the corner starring out into nothing. She made no sign to show that she knew the Asari had entered not even a sarcastic remark which shocked Aegis.

"I'm surprised you didn't want to go with the Commander on this. I figured you'd have a good idea what to expect in the prison." The future Spectre joked.

"I've spent enough time in prison. I would rather really not go back even if it was to destroy one." Thaila said not looking away from the far off point she was staring at.

"Tell me what's bothering you then." Aegis suggested and the woman in question paused as if considering answering.

"My dad confused me for my mom the other day and I can't help but think how they would react if they knew what I had done." The dark haired soldier confided finally focusing her eyes on the Asari.

"You're feeling remorse now? The last time we talked you told me you would do it again if given a chance." The blue woman remarked confused.

"I don't regret any of it. I just can't help but think I've insulted my parent's memory by killing those people." Thalia said sternly.

"Then why'd you do it?" Aegis asked feeling she would get an answer.

"I…" The future Shepard had a look in her eyes like the answer was physically painful before she took a deep breath and shut down her face, "It doesn't matter anymore. I'll die before telling anyone why I did it."

"There's no reason to bottle it up. No one in past can punish you for it." The Spectre reminded her partner and they heard the sounds of the group returning.

"Sounds like they're back, you should head back up." Thalia said as she opened the door to make her point.

The future soldier saw the bald headed form of Jack being lead to the spot she requested. Shepard paused, thinking about introducing the two but was a little frightened at the small chance that the two would get along. '_The ship wouldn't survive that nightmare._' Alex thought seeing in his mind the Normandy blowing up again and shuddered. '_Yeah, I should keep an eye on them._'

While the Commander was thinking, Thalia thought back to the first time she met the 'psychotic biotic' as her uncle Garus had jokingly called her. '_It's a little weird to see her with no hair._' She thought jokingly.

**Flashback**

_A six year old Thalia sat on her porch with a pout and a miniature model of a Widow Sniper rifle. She perked up hearing a distant conversation and a voice that sounded distinctly like her father's voice. Taking off from the porch, she ran as fast as her little legs could carry her and he crouched with his arms wide open. She jumped into his arms and hugged him as hard as she could; not noticing of the woman next him._

"_So this is the infamous little Shepard I heard about." Jack spoke from next to her former leader as the little girl was staring down the powerful biotic._

"_Yep, this is my little Krogan. Thalia, this is Jack. She teaches biotics to kids so she's been busy." Alex introduces and the dark haired child waves while Jack laughs._

"_Seriously, Shepard, you call her 'your little Krogan'." Subject Zero said still chuckling._

"_I almost shot Wrex when he told her about how Krogans' settle their politics in their neutral ground. The next day she goes out and head butts a little boy." Shepard remarked causing Jack to resume her laughing. "It's not funny she broke his nose and busted her head open. Ash nearly shot me for laughing at it."_

"_She's a Shepard alright." The biotic woman stated still laughing. "Nice work, kid."_

"_He deserved it, Daddy. He kept saying that Humans were superior to all the other Aliens out there cause you beat the Reapers so I showed him what Krogans' can do. He was a fucktard racist or at least that's what Mommy called his father." This caused Alex to stare wide eyed at his daughter and Jack to fall to the ground laughing._

"_Oh… haha… God… haha… I… haha... can't… haha… believe… haha… that you… haha… thought I… haha… would be… haha… the bad influence… haha" The normally pissed off biotic's face was red from lack of breath due to her laughter while the silent commander just glared at his former crewmember._

**End Flashback**

The future soldier had to smile a little at her memory but was brought back to see Shepard, who had cleared his throat to gain her attention. Noticing that everyone was staring at her, Thalia wondered how long she had spaced out. Alex noticed that he finally had the Alliance Corporal's attention he started to speak.

"You okay there, Grace?" The human Spectre wondered.

"Sorry, Sir, she reminds me of someone I know." Thaila answered looking away.

"That's nice, Princess. Now if this little heat to heart shit is over I'm going down to my bunk. Blue girl there glaring at me is getting me itching to do some damage." Jack turned and left before anyone could say anything.

After that everyone went off to do their own thing while Shepard received news that the Illusive Man would like to see him. He walked out of the Comm. Room in a daze as he ran through the previous conversation. He needed to get to Horizon fast and he could finally see Ashley. After two years and billions of dreams of having her in his arms, it could finally happen but now that he thought about it he couldn't think of what to say though he probably shouldn't go with a 'hey there'.

"Joker, set a course to Horizon and get us there ASAP." Shepard yelled through the intercom to his pilot. '_I'm coming, Ash. Just hold on._'

AN: Please review and tell me what you think. Again, I'm sorry it's taking me so long to update my job doesn't give me a lot of free time but I'm not giving up on my stories. So I ask that you just stick with me, please and thank you.


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